President Xi Jinping and other world leaders have arrived in the Russian city of Kazan for the Brics summit.

Xi was greeted at the airport by Russian officials upon his arrival on Tuesday.

He later met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and hailed ties between the two countries.

"The world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, and the international situation is chaotic and intertwined," Xi told Putin, praising the "profound friendship" between Beijing and Moscow.

Ties have "injected strong impetus into the development, revitalisation and modernisation of the two countries" and have "made important contributions to upholding international equity and justice," Xi said.

He also said the two sides "have found the right way for neighbouring major countries to get along with each other which features non-alliance, non-confrontation and not targeting any third party," according to Xinhua News Agency.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa are among the leaders joining the Brics gathering in Kazan.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres is also undertaking his first trip to Russia since April 2022 to attend the summit.

Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov touted the summit as the largest foreign-policy event ever held by Russia, with 36 countries attending and more than 20 of them represented by heads of state.

For Putin, the three-day meeting also offers a powerful way to demonstrate the failure of US-led efforts to isolate Moscow over the war in Ukraine.

The Brics alliance, which initially comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has expanded rapidly to embrace Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have formally applied to become members, and a few others have expressed an interest in joining. (Agencies)
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Last updated: 2024-10-22 HKT 22:38